Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Sixteen-year-old Sarah has a rare chance at a new life. Or so the doctors tell her. She's been undergoing a cutting-edge procedure that will render her a tabula rasa - a blank slate. Memory by memory her troubled past is being taken away.

But when her final surgery is interrupted and a team of elite soldiers invades the isolated hospital under cover of massive blizzard, her fresh start could be her end.

Navigating familiar halls that have become a dangerous maze with the help of a teen computer hacker who's trying to bring the hospital down for his own reasons, Sarah starts to piece together who she is and why someone would want her erased. And she won't be silenced again.

A high-stakes thriller featuring a non-stop race for survival and a smart heroine who will risk everything, Tabula Rasa is, in short, unforgettable.
from goodreads.com

Beth says 3.5 Stars...
The concept behind this book is absolutely fascinating and I love the idea of a breakneck story with this kind of intensity. I enjoyed my reading, but definitely felt like there were some problems with the novel. A major issue I had was with the setting. For the attempted scope of the story, keeping everything located within the hospital ended up problematic. The feeling of claustrophobia created by limiting the setting worked against the feeling of the book. Enough intensity came from the plot; the extras were unnecessary and distracting. The plot itself moved fairly quickly, but the information drops weren't particularly well timed. All of the action did work in the book's favor with the battle sequences coming off as unpredictable and exciting. I can totally see how they would pull action fans in, and it definitely made the book a page turner.

Sarah is fairly well characterized and interesting. She's easy to root for, despite how little she knows about herself. Her struggle to learn about her past is a bit mishandled, which goes back to my earlier note on the information pacing. The other characters did certainly add to the narrative. Thomas was particularly awesome with his snark and thoughtful attitude. He didn't take undue risks, but wasn't afraid of going for it when necessary. The only individual that I felt really lacked depth and that I was ambivalent to was the villain. I think that's one of the reasons I didn't like this book as much. It's hard to love something when the "evil" force in the story feels contrived and elicits no strong response.

Overall, I wanted more from the villain and better information reveals. This book is for people who want a thrill ride or fast-paced adventure. If you're looking for depth, look elsewhere.
ebook from Netgalley

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We are more than happy to review YA novels, however we prefer either physical copies or e-books via Netgalley or Edelweiss. If you would like us to review a book please e-mail us at bnbookblog@gmail.com for more information.

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2011 Debut Authors Challenge!

So we've decided to join the challenge! This is just a preliminary list, and is definitely subject to change (we'll be doing a lot of adding as books begin to be released in order to get to the 12 we need!). Also, this is no order whatsoever. (if the book is in a color, it means one of us has read it!)

1. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

2. Human.4 by Mike Lancaster

3. Like Madarin by Kirsten Hubbard

4. The Emerald Atlas by John Stevens

5. A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

6. Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

7. Hourglass by Myra McEntire

8. Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley

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About Us

Welcome to "in BetweeN the pages." This is a little project that we've started and we hope that it will allow us to engage in some lovely book talk. Here's a little about us-

Beth~I have a feeling that I may have a problem. I adore books. I read whenever I can, and most of the time feel that reading a good book would be a much better use of my time than working on anything else. I'm a recent college graduate with a degree in chemistry and love science! I'm currently living in Finland while doing some research as a Fulbright before embarking on my PhD. Hopefully you will enjoy what I say... but I tend to ramble.

Nathan~For me, reading is the ultimate escape. A good book is so much better than any therapist can ever be. I am, what many might call, a book addict. It may be wrong, but it feels so right to blow off my homework and sit curled up with a novel. It's the ultimate relaxation. Books have gotten me through school and all the drama that accompanies it. I hope that my humble opinions can help you as you continue your literary adventure.